Judge adjourns trial

The clash also took place in the presence of Director of Public Prosecutions Geoffrey Henderson, who was sitting in at the trial. The exchange of words occurred while Ramadhar was cross-examining the investigator in the case, Supt Gregory Correia.

The shouting match between the two lawyers left the jury and the public gallery in shock as Justice Holdip brought proceedings to a close, promising to deal with it when hearing resumes this morning.

"I don’t want this to be a battleground," the judge told the court. "I will have my time to think about it. I will reflect on how this trial is going."

There has been a steady clash between Khan and Ramadhar since the trial got underway earlier this month. It came to a head yesterday, in the presence of the jury, and after Ramadhar was given leave by the judge to cross-examine Correia for a second time.

Ramadhar cross-examined Correia on Monday and was followed by Pamela Elder SC. When Elder completed her cross-examination yesterday, Ramadhar asked that he be allowed to ask additional questions which he missed out on Monday because he was not firing on all cylinders. The judge agreed after Khan said he was not going to object, waiting to see what Ramadhar was going to ask.

Khan objected on several occasions to the line of questioning from Ramadhar. Khan contended that the questions asked amounted to hearsay. On most occasions, Justice Holdip struck down the questions, saying they bordered on hearsay.

When Khan could take no more, he jumped up. "This is the second time he is casting aspersions on someone. First, it was on someone in the DPP’s office; now he is accusing a police officer of suppressing evidence. I will not tolerate this any more."

Holdip intervened, saying that Ramadhar did not accuse anyone in the DPP’s department of suppressing evidence, and allowed the defence attorney to ask his question. Ramadhar then asked Correia, "You wouldn’t suppress evidence if you had reliable evidence concerning a murder?" Correia replied, "I will not suppress any evidence."

Ramadhar: "I want an apology from Mr Khan."

Khan stood up, turned around, and faced Ramadhar and said, "I humbly apologise," bringing laughter to a packed courtroom.

Ramadhar continued his cross-examination, but within seconds Khan was on his feet again.

"Mr Ramadhar has no regard for the court ruling, he has no regard for the ethics of the profession. He is like a bull in a China shop; he intends to mash up the whole place. You asked him for an apology, and he refused.

"He cast aspersions on Mr Prince (a prosecutor in the DPP office). Mr Ramadhar is either flouting the code of ethics, or the code as a lawyer. If he asks that, and he knows he cannot ask that, he shouldn’t be wearing that gown in the Assizes. You have already ruled."

Ramadhar: "What ruling? He berates me and he puts me down. What is this all about? I am being dragged through the mud by Mr Khan."

At this point, voices were raised and the time was approaching 2 pm. Other attorneys, including Elder, sat in their seats and witnessed the "war of the words."

Holdip then put his foot down. "I think we have had enough for today. Members of the jury, you have heard all this over the past few minutes. I will deal with this tomorrow. I don’t want this to be a battleground. I will have my time to think about it. I want to reflect on how this trial is going."

With those words, the judge then adjourned further hearing to today. Correia, the 12th prosecution witness, will return to the witness stand.